A cherry, a plum, and an apple

FFFAMILY

I recently tracked down my husband during daylight hours and announced, I want to plant an apple, a cherry, and a plum tree this year.

He replied, I wanted to plant fruit trees a long time ago but you didn't want to!

I scratched my head in confusion. I was expecting to hear, It'll have to wait until after fieldwork is done.

He continued, Besides, the time to plant them was 10 years ago, when I wanted to plant them.

Though I don't recall that supposed conversation, he was right about the best time to plant trees (10 years ago). The thing is; a decade ago, tree planting wasn't high up on my to-do list.

This spring, however, the problems of the world have escalated to a point that alarms me. And, close to home a stretch of U.S. Highway 12 is giving way to a newly formed lake (just east of Roscoe).

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As the waters began to rise, I had the initial urge to stock up on nonperishable supplies. My second reaction involved the vegetable garden. I made it a priority to purchase plants, and get the seed potatoes in the ground. I even stumbled upon an advertisement for a survivalist garden kit. (I guess I'm not the only one who wants to plant a bigger garden this spring.)

Yet, to me, the word survivalist sounds more like an adjective for the farm I grew up on, not a mere backyard garden. We had our own well. We had a generator. Grandma raised chickens and gathered eggs. Our milk came from my sister's 4-H project. We had a deep freeze full of homegrown beef. We picked wild chokecherries and plums, and canned the excesses from the huge garden.

If the roads had gone under in the summertime, it would have taken us a while to even notice, since we rarely left the farm! Compared to urban lifestyles, our farm life was uncivilized and old-fashioned. When someone took frugal living to the extreme, they were sometimes labeled 'tight' (as in tight-fisted; or cheap). When that unflattering label was overheard, we were put in our place with horror stories from The Great Depression.

Today we have renamed that old electric-bill-conscious-attitude: green, or sustainable.

Other things have changed since my farm kid era. Mainly, our household now lives life on the air-conditioned go, along with most other Americans. We don't need to hear about the Dirty Thirties because we can get the same sobering effect just by turning on the nightly news.

For many Midwesterners, backyard gardening is still important, and hunting and fishing also remain popular pastimes. I wonder how many of us do these things because they are a beloved hobby, and we like the taste of the food we grow or catch ourselves? Or are the green, organic, survivalist, and money-saving factors now becoming our main motivation?

Even though I'm anxious to get some fruit trees going, and I do see the need to evaluate and adjust our lifestyle - 'survivalist' is a new word for an old idea that I find unsettling.

To truly survive all on our own, and to plant that kind of expansive garden, would first require a moderate to major financial investment. Secondly, survivalist living would also require a major lifestyle adjustment. Namely, being there. We would need to stay at home more often than we leave it.

In theory, this all sounds good. In reality, it can be very complicated, and costly.

Likewise, simple truths don't need labeling. In my view gardening has always been, and will always be, a good thing. The garden itself can't participate in propaganda, which is a nice bonus. Homegrown cucumber vines don't have popular buzzwords on their leaves. (If they ever do, someone will have some explaining to do!)

I think it's our apprehension about the future that spawns these new names for old things. Then the new words become marketing tools for more and more products. As a result, I recently had to remind myself that raising food doesn't need to be an anxious reaction. Rather, growing our own food can be a declaration that we will live in faith, not fear.

It can also be a lot of fun.

If the highway closes this summer I might even be glad that I am forced to go less and stay home more- planting new things and tending to what is growing. As the famous saying goes, If I knew the world would end tomorrow, I'd plant a tree today.